Felonies filed in University of Colorado pot brownie case

Font ResizeLocal NewsBy Mitchell Byars
The Daily Cameradenverpost.comPosted: 12/14/2012 12:01:00 AM MST

Mary Elizabeth Essa, the second of two University of Colorado students accused of sickening a professor and seven classmates last week with marijuana-infused brownies, formally was charged with 18 felonies Thursday in Boulder County court.

Essa, 19, was charged with eight counts of second-degree assault and eight counts of inducing the consumption of a controlled substance. She also is charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit second-degree assault and conspiracy to induce consumption of a controlled substance. She and Thomas Ricardo Cunningham are alleged to have worked together.

Cunningham, 21, was charged with identical counts Wednesday.

Boulder County Judge Noel Blum granted a travel request allowing Essa to leave the state. According to police records, Essa is from Nevada.

Essa and her lawyer Jon Banashek declined to comment after the hearing.

She and Cunningham have been released on $5,000 bond each. They are due for arraignment Jan. 25.

According to police and court records, Cunningham and Essa brought marijuana-laced brownies to their history class last week but did not tell anyone else in the class that the food was laced with THC, the active ingredient in marijuana.

CU police said Cunningham and Essa have admitted that the brownies contained marijuana.

View the Original article